ICC Hall of Famer and former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting feels that batter Cameron Bancroft is leading the race to succeed David Warner and Usman Khawaja at the top of Australia's Test batting.
Much was expected from a revamped Kolkata Knight Riders set-up but it seemed Dinesh Karthik did not learn from his past mistakes
Shane Watson also named in T20 squad to be captained by Aaron Finch
Sean Abbott and Beau Webster, seasoned domestic cricketers, remain on the fringes of Australia's Test squad
Smith ruled out; Cummins, Warner rested for white-ball tour.
Full list of players released, retained and traded by all ten teams in the IPL.
Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch said that Alex Carey and Rishabh Pant, two left-handed wicketkeeper-batters will be extremely important for their respective sides during the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bat first against Australia in their World Twenty20 Super 10 match at Dharamsala on Friday. The Kiwis are on a high after beating hosts India in their Group Two opener and a second win against their trans-Tasman rivals will put them on course for a place in the semi-finals. After their brave gamble to pick three specialist spinners paid off against India, New Zealand decided to bolster the pace attack, dropping off-spinner Nathan McCullum to accommodate Mitchell McClenaghan. "It's nice to get a win early and hopefully we can make an adjustment again on a new wicket," captain Kane Williamson said. Australia captain Steven Smith said he too would have liked to bat first on a dry wicket at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
Pushed into a tight corner, Royal Challengers Bengaluru rose above their frailties to notch four wins on the trot and stay alive in the race to play-offs. However, a volatile Delhi Capitals offer them a different challenge in their penultimate IPL league match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Scenes from the post triumph celebrations after Australia won its first T20 World Cup championship at the Dubai international cricket stadium on Sunday.
James Pattinson will replace fellow-quick Mitchell Starc in the Australia team for this week's opening test against West Indies, captain Steve Smith said on Wednesday, reviving a promising career that had stalled because of injury.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly said on Saturday that Rishabh Pant is "fully fit" but added that the wicketkeeper-batter should be given some more time to prepare himself for India team selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.
Starc had wiped out the entire top order in powerplay
The hard-hitting 27-year-old becomes the fifth Australia player to leave the Indian Twenty20 tournament early following the departures of captain Steve Smith, John Hastings and Mitchell and Shaun Marsh
Images from Day 2 of the third Ashes Test on Friday.
DC lost Salt, Marsh, Rossouw, Warner, Axar and Manish off five successive overs.
On the ICC ODI Team Rankings, No.1 ranked Australia has moved up from 118 points to 120 points, while New Zealand has dropped behind India in fourth position. New Zealand had started the series on 112 points, but the 3-0 defeat has meant it has dropped to 109 points.
It took Australia seven attempts but under Aaron Finch they finally laid their hands on a maiden Twenty20 World Cup title on Sunday with an eight-wicket triumph over New Zealand.
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell feels even though he backs the hosts to win the series 3-0, India should field five specialist bowlers including two spinners in the final cricket Test, starting January 6.
Images from Day 4 of the 5th and final Ashes Test between Australia and England at the SCG in Sydney on Sunday
Delhi Capitals all-rounder Mitchell Marsh defended his side's Indian batters following their inability to resurrect the run-chase against SunRisers Hyderabad, saying the game was not lost due to their inexperience and the 198-run target was "far too many" in the end.
Shaun Marsh will replace injured Australia captain Michael Clarke for the second Test match against India, starting at Brisbane from December 17, Cricket Australia said on Saturday.
Veteran Sourav Ganguly marked his belated return to the Indian Premier League with a gutsy batting display as Pune Warriors notched a comfortable six-wicket victory over Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Following is a fact box on the second Test of the four-match series between Australia and India:
Glenn Maxwell missed his maiden ODI century but his career-best 95 helped Australia win the tri-series
Concerns that senior players would pull out of the tour due to security issues after both England and New Zealand withdrew from tours of Pakistan late last year have proven unfounded.
Delhi Capitals will expect more from their batters after an underwhelming display in their previous outing, while Lucknow Super Giants are eager to shrug off overdependence on skipper KL Rahul when the teams clash in the IPL match in Mumbai on Sunday.
Batsman Daniel Hughes, returning from an ankle injury but still visibly restricted, top-scored with 42 before being run-out by Marsh, triggering a collapse which resulted in the side being bowled out for 92.
'The more all-rounders are there, the better it is for any team in T20s'
Images from the fifth One-Day International between Australia and India in Sydney, on Saturday.
Calling all cricket lovers to take a crack at our latest IPL quiz.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between South Africa and Australia in Durban on Saturday.
He also said the team was awaiting the arrival of the experienced David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Jonny Bairstow, who are presently involved in a limited overs series in England.
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between South Africa and Australia in Port Elizabeth on Monday.
Steve Smith will lead Australia against India in the upcoming three-match ODI series as regular captain Pat Cummins, who lost his mother recently, will not return for the white-ball contest.
How do India and Australia's teams stack up? Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers.
The game on Friday had enough positives for India, mainly the performance of Mohammad Shami and Suryakumar Yadav, but few questions still need to be answered ahead of the World Cup, beginning October 5.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after 29 World Cup 2023 games.
Images from Monday's IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and SunRisers Hyderabad, in Dubai.
Kohli has always led from the front but he knows his search for a maiden title will remain incomplete if the team doesn't perform in all departments.
